A Piece of Home

On a recent trip to Five Islands, we went for a walk on the beach and I picked up a small piece of driftwood.  It made me think of all the times my friend Betty and I spent scouring the beach there for treasures when we were young. We couldn't wait for the snow to leave in the spring so that we could see what the harsh winter tides had washed up. Often there was amethyst;  I still have this rather sizeable chunk we found!

 The driftwood made a perfect hanger for this little beach scene.

All kinds of weights and types of thread were used in the quilting, including a silver holographic which added the sparkle of sun dancing on the waves.  Rather than binding the edges, I "faced" them for a clean edge finish. (You can find directions for this in my book, Quilting Beauties.)

This will go with me as a sample for my curved strips class at Fibre Arts Festival, and then hang here in my work room as a reminder of home.

Fibre Arts Festival 2016 Workshops

The fabrics from my last post were sewn into this cushion, as sample for a class on Curved Strip-Piecing which I will be teaching during the 2016 Fibre Arts Festival.

In this class, we will take strip-piecing to a whole new level by adding free-form curves to the patchwork. We will cut the curves in the fabric free hand with a rotary cutter – no templates or rulers required – and then easily stitch the pieces together using cues from the fabric. Thread embellishment will be added after stitching. This technique can be used in a variety of projects, such as a landscape background, or in patchwork projects. Our project for the day will be a 14" cushion, as shown above. The class will be held Friday, October 14,2016, from 9 am to 3 pm, here in Amherst, Nova Scotia. For more information, you can check out this page on my website:

http://karenneary.ca/workshops_2016.htm

For the Festival, I am also offering a Beginner String Quilting class. This fun and informal class is appropriate both for beginners wanting to learn patchwork skills, and for more experienced quilters looking for ideas to use up leftover scraps. Sewing leftover "strings" of fabric produces charming, traditional quilts in the manner of our frugal grandmothers.Instruction will be provided on how to sew string blocks for use in quilts, or smaller projects such as placemats, aprons, or bags. 

This class will be held on Wednesday, October 12 from 9 am to 3 pm. You can find more information and register online here.

A Little Fishy Fun

I made several fun gifts this Christmas, but my absolute favourite was this fellow, for my eldest son. He plays in a band called Moon Trout  and as you can see from the glittery,crescent shaped marking on this guy's face, he is indeed a moon trout.

I used the same (easy) curved strip piecing technique that I've employed on several projects (such as The Stuffle, and In The Summer Time),embellished during the quilting stage with 12 weight Aurifil threads.  I love the effect.  It's a great way to make a landscape background too... if you're not into trout.

I will be teaching a workshop on this free-form curved strip-piecing here in Amherst next October; please email (karen at karenneary.ca) if you'd like a spot reserved for this fun class.